Gov. J.B. Pritzker has expanded eligibility for inmates’ medical furloughs in hopes of minimizing the spread of COVID-19 in state prisons.

Under an executive order signed Monday, the Illinois Department of Corrections director can allow “medically vulnerable” inmates to temporarily leave prison for as long as the state’s disaster proclamation is in effect.

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There are more than 36,000 inmates in the system, "the vast majority of whom, because of their close proximity and contact with each other in housing units and dining halls, are particularly vulnerable to contracting and spreading COVID-19," Pritzker's executive order states.

As of Monday, there were 62 inmates and 40 staffers with confirmed infections at state correctional facilities. The virus has taken hold most dramatically at Stateville, near Joliet, where 56 inmates have tested positive. Two Stateville inmates have died of the disease.

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Pritzker’s order comes on the heels of lawsuits filed last week seeking the release of thousands of Illinois prisoners amid the alarming spread of the coronavirus.

The lawsuits, filed by a consortium of Chicago civil rights attorneys and community activists, included a proposed federal class action claim against Pritzker and state Department of Corrections officials, a habeas corpus action, and a direct appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court.

A hearing in the case was expected as soon as Friday.

The lawsuits stated that as many as 13,000 prisoners could be eligible for release, including many who were convicted of nonviolent offenses, are elderly, at elevated risk of getting ill, or have already served most of their sentences.

The suits alleged that IDOC and political leaders have dragged their feet in the face of the pandemic, putting prisoners, prison staff and the general public at greater risk of severe illness and death.

“Nearly 37,000 people are incarcerated in Illinois, living in close quarters where all aspects of daily life, including healthcare and food service, take place,” the lawsuits stated. The suits alleged the prisons “are petri dishes for spreading deadly epidemics.”

“This at a minimum clarifies that the IDOC can do what we are asking it to do in our lawsuit, Money v. Pritzker, to medically furlough all specially vulnerable prisoners for the duration of the emergency,” Alan Mills of the Uptown People’s Law Center said in a statement. “This is a very positive move. It allows the IDOC to transfer thousands of prisoners to any place (including their homes) where they will be able to follow the Governor’s orders requiring people to shelter in place and maintain social distance.”